Ruairi O’Connor helped himself to 1-6 as the Laois senior footballers continued their unbeaten start in the O’Byrne Cup thanks to a 2-17 to 1-8 win over Wicklow in Greystones on Wednesday night.
Laois trailed 1-5 to 0-7 at the break but an early second-half goal from O’Connor – after a sublime pass from Ambrose Doran – turned the game in their favour and they never looked back from that moment on.
Doran quickly stretched the lead with a nice point and then Gary Walsh got Laois’s second goal when he came in along the endline and finished to the bottom corner.
Laois fielded a much-changed side from the one that got the better of DIT on Sunday as manager Peter Creedon didn’t use any of the U-21 players.
Doran got the game’s first score in the second minute with a lovely point off his left foot and after Mountmellick’s Eoin Keogh pulled off a point-blank save to deny Wicklow a goal at the other end, O’Connor curled over a free to double the Laois lead.
Brendan Kennedy and Paul Kingston swapped points before Wicklow veteran Seanie Furlong gave the home side the lead when he smashed a close-range effort to the back of the net.
Wicklow stayed ahead after that. O’Connor, Doran and Walsh all pointed to keep Laois in touch but a Furlong free before the break meant Wicklow had a one-point lead as the half-time whistle blew.
The early Laois goals knocked the wind out of Wicklow’s sails and although Ambrose Doran was given a red card for an off-the-ball incident, Laois hit a string of unanswered points.
Walsh and Sean Ramsbottom hit two each while Ross Munnelly – now in his 15th season – Jamie Farrell and O’Connor also found the range.
Wicklow’s Darren Hayden also got his marching orders after being singled out for his part in a brief scuffle but it made little difference as Laois cruised home.
They now play Meath in Stradbally at 7pm with the winners of that game going through to the semi-finals.
Doran will be suspended following his sending off while Matthew Campion and Gareth Dillon both went off injured.
